2021 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2021 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Pac-12 Conference, which was played March 10–13, 2021, at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.[1] The winner was Oregon State,[2] which was the first for the Beavers in the history of the tournament.[3] They received the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[4] The 2020 Tournament had been cancelled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 tournament was played, but with only family of student-athletes as spectators in attendance.[5][6]

2021 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2020–21
Teams11
SiteT-Mobile Arena
Paradise, Nevada
ChampionsOregon State Beavers (1st title)
Winning coachWayne Tinkle (1st title)
MVPWarith Alatishe (Oregon State)
Top scorerAlonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State)
(54 points)
TelevisionPac-12 Network
ESPN
← 2020
2022 →
2020–21 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 17 Oregon 14 4   .778 21 7   .750
No. 9 USC 15 5   .750 25 8   .758
No. 23 Colorado 14 6   .700 23 9   .719
No. 7 UCLA 13 6   .684 22 10   .688
Arizona* 11 9   .550 17 9   .654
No. 20 Oregon State 10 10   .500 20 13   .606
Stanford 10 10   .500 14 13   .519
Utah 8 11   .421 12 13   .480
Arizona State 7 10   .412 11 14   .440
Washington State 7 12   .368 14 13   .519
Washington 4 16   .200 5 21   .192
California 3 17   .150 9 20   .310
*Ineligible for the conference and NCAA tournaments due to self-imposed postseason ban.
Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Seeds

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Eleven of the 12 Pac-12 teams competed in the tournament. The Arizona Wildcats did not compete in the tournament; the university self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2020-21 season due to ongoing NCAA investigations into corruption within the program.[7] Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with tiebreakers in place to seed teams with identical conference records.[8] The top five teams received a bye to the quarterfinals.

Seed School Conference Overall Tiebreak 1 Tiebreak 2
1 Oregon†# 14–4 19–5
2 USC# 15–5 21–6
3 Colorado# 14–6 20–7
4 UCLA# 13–6 17–8
5 Oregon State# 10–10 14–12 1–1 vs. Stanford 1–1 vs. Oregon
6 Stanford 10–10 14–12 1–1 vs. Oregon State 0–2 vs. Oregon
7 Utah 8–11 11–12
8 Arizona State 7–10 10–13
9 Washington State 7–12 14–12
10 Washington 4–16 5–20
11 California 3–17 8–19
† – Pac-12 Conference regular season champions
# – Received a first round bye in the conference tournament.

Schedule

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Game Time Matchup Score Television Attendance
First round – Wednesday, March 10
1 1:00 pm No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Washington State 64–59 Pac-12 Network N/A^
2 4:00 pm No. 7 Utah vs. No. 10 Washington 98–95
3 7:00 pm No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 11 California 58–76
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 11
4 11:30 am No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 Arizona State 91–73 Pac-12 Network N/A
5 2:30 pm No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 Oregon State 79–83 OT
6 5:30 pm No. 2 USC vs. No. 7 Utah 91–85 2OT N/A
7 8:30 pm No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 11 California 61–58 ESPN
Semifinals – Friday, March 12
8 5:30 pm No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 5 Oregon State 64–75 Pac-12 Network N/A
9 8:30 pm No. 2 USC vs. No. 3 Colorado 70–72 ESPN
Championship – Saturday, March 13
10 7:30 pm No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 5 Oregon State 68–70 ESPN N/A
Game times in PT. Rankings denote tournament seed.

^According to the Pac-12, family members were allowed to attend, but the general public was not allowed. As a result, the Pac-12 has not released official attendance numbers.

Bracket

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First round
Wednesday, March 10
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 11
Semifinals
Friday, March 12
Championship
Saturday, March 13
            
1 Oregon 91
8 Arizona State 73
8 Arizona State 64
9 Washington State 59
1 Oregon 64
5 Oregon State 75
4 UCLA 79
5 Oregon State 83*
5 Oregon State 70
3 #23 Colorado 68
2 #24 USC 91**
7 Utah 85
7 Utah 98
10 Washington 95
2 #24 USC 70
3 #23 Colorado 72
3 #23 Colorado 61
11 California 58
6 Stanford 58
11 California 76

* denotes overtime period ** denotes double overtime period

Game statistics

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First round

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Pac-12 Network
March 10
1:00 pm PST
No. 8 Arizona State 64, No. 9 Washington State 59
Scoring by half: 25-24, 39-35
Pts: Verge Jr., 26
Rebs: 3 tied, 6
Asts: House, 6
Pts: Bonton, 19
Rebs: Kunc, 9
Asts: 2 tied, 4
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Chris Rastatter, Deldre Carr, Greg Nixon
Pac-12 Network
March 10
4:00 pm PST
No. 7 Utah 98, No. 10 Washington 95
Scoring by half: 47-35, 51-60
Pts: Allen, 24
Rebs: Allen, 11
Asts: 2 tied, 4
Pts: Green, 31
Rebs: 2 tied, 6
Asts: Green, 7
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Tony Padilla, Michael Irving, Michael Greenstein
Pac-12 Network
March 10
7:00 pm PST
No. 6 Stanford 58, No. 11 California 76
Scoring by half: 29-35, 29-41
Pts: Delaire, 14
Rebs: Kisunas, 7
Asts: O'Connell, 3
Pts: Bradley, 19
Rebs: Kelly, 9
Asts: Bradley, 6
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Randy McCall, Verne Harris, Mike Reed

Quarterfinals

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Pac-12 Network
March 11
11:30 am PST
No. 1 Oregon 91, No. 8 Arizona State 73
Scoring by half: 35-27, 56-46
Pts: Verge Jr., 28
Rebs: Verge Jr., 8
Asts: Martin, 5
Pts: Figueroa, 21
Rebs: Richardson, 7
Asts: Richardson, 9
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Mike Reed, Michael Irving, Kevin Brill
Pac-12 Network
March 11
2:30 pm PST
No. 4 UCLA 79, No. 5 Oregon State 83 (OT)
Scoring by half: 34-24, 36-46 Overtime: 9-13
Pts: Bernard, 19
Rebs: Bernard, 10
Asts: Campbell, 5
Pts: Alatishe, 22
Rebs: 2 tied, 10
Asts: Hunt, 5
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Randy McCall, Michael Greenstein, Mike Scyphers
Pac-12 Network
March 11
5:30 pm PST
No. 2 USC 91, No. 7 Utah 85 (OT)
Scoring by half: 34-29, 37-42 Overtime: 20-14
Pts: E. Mobley, 26
Rebs: E. Mobley, 9
Asts: 2 tied, 3
Pts: Allen, 20
Rebs: Allen, 13
Asts: Allen, 3
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Chris Rastatter, Verne Harris, Frank Harvey III
March 11
8:30 pm PST
No. 3 Colorado 61, No. 11 California 58
Scoring by half: 24-20, 37-38
Pts: Battey, 15
Rebs: Walker, 6
Asts: Wright IV, 3
Pts: Anticevich, 11
Rebs: Anticevich, 6
Asts: Brown, 4
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Tony Padilla, Deldre Carr, Greg Nixon

Semifinals

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Pac-12 Network
March 12
5:30 pm PST
No. 1 Oregon 64, No. 5 Oregon State 75
Scoring by half: 28-38, 36-37
Pts: Thompson, 16
Rebs: Alatishe, 12
Asts: 2 tied, 4
Pts: 3 tied, 14
Rebs: Richardson, 7
Asts: Richardson, 6
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Verne Harris, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter
ESPN
March 12
8:30 pm PST
No. 2 USC 70, No. 3 Colorado 72
Scoring by half: 30-39, 40-33
Pts: E. Mobley, 26
Rebs: E. Mobley, 9
Asts: Eaddy, 5
Pts: Wright IV, 24
Rebs: Horne, 7
Asts: Wright IV, 4
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Mike Reed, Deldre Carr, Michael Greenstein

Championship

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ESPN
March 13
7:30 pm PST
No. 5 Oregon State 70, No. 3 Colorado 68
Scoring by half: 33-28, 37-40
Pts: Calloo, 15
Rebs: Alatishe, 7
Asts: Thompson, 4
Pts: Wright IV, 18
Rebs: Battey, 8
Asts: Wright IV, 7
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, NV
Referees: Verne Harris, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter

Awards and honors

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Team and tournament leaders

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Team Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks Minutes
Arizona
Arizona State Verge Jr. 54 Verge Jr. 14 2 tied 7 House 6 3 tied 1 Martin 72
California Bradley 29 2 tied 11 Brown 7 2 tied 2 Kelly 2 Bradley 67
Colorado Wright IV 52 Battey 19 Wright IV 14 5 tied 2 Walton 2 Wright IV 103
Oregon Figueroa 35 Richardson 14 Richardson 15 Omoruyi 7 2 tied 2 Richardson 75
Oregon State 2 tied 42 Alatishe 29 Thompson 11 Thompson 4 2 tied 2 Lucas 104
Stanford Delaire 14 Kisunas 7 O'Connell 3 Wills 3 2 tied 1 Wills 32
UCLA Bernard 19 Bernard 10 Campbell 5 Singleton 2 Riley 3 Campbell 43
USC E. Mobley 52 E. Mobley 18 Eaddy 8 Eaddy 3 E. Mobley 10 2 tied 78
Utah Allen 44 Allen 24 Allen 7 Allen 3 2 tied 2 Allen 87
Washington Green 31 2 tied 6 Green 7 Bajema 3 2 tied 1 2 tied 37
Washington State Bonton 19 Kunc 9 2 tied 4 Bonton 2 3 tied 1 Bonton 39

All-Tournament Team

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Team
Warith Alatishe F 6'7" 220 Jr. Oregon State
Evan Mobley F 7'0" 210 Fr. USC
Evan Battey F 6'8" 260 Jr. Colorado
McKinley Wright IV G 6'0" 200 Sr. Colorado
Jared Lucas G 6'3" 205 So. Oregon State
Ethan Thompson G 6'5" 195 Sr. Oregon State

Tournament notes

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  • Five teams were extended invitations to the 2021 NCAA tournament: Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and USC.[9] The five bids marks the most for the Conference since securing a record seven in 2015-16.[10] Oregon State was not expected to be invited to the tournament, and changed the number of predicted bids of the Pac-12 from four to five.[11] The team first out originally predicted in the field was Louisville.[12][13]
  • No teams from the Pac-12 were invited to the 2021 National Invitation Tournament, which was reduced in size.
  • In the NCAA tournament, UCLA won the 11 seed play-in game, and then all five teams advanced to the round of 32 on the opening weekend.[14] Four teams advanced to round of sixteen.[15] Three teams advanced to the round of eight: Oregon State, UCLA, and USC.[16] USC and Oregon played each other for the final Elite 8 spot. UCLA reached the Final Four as a 11-seed First Four team.[17]
  • Each win in the NCAA tournament by a conference team gains a payout "unit" for the conference over six years.[18] The Pac-12 team wins in the 2021 tournament gained a record 19 units, which will cause almost US$40 million to be paid to the conference by 2027.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Pac-12 Men's Basketball releases reorganized inaugural 20-game 2020-21 league schedule". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Curtis, Jake - Oregon State Pulls Off Another Upset, Wins Pac-12 Tournament Title - SI.COM (Sports Illustrated), March 14, 2021 Beavers, picked to finish last in Pac-12, top Colorado in championship game to earn NCAA tournament berth
  3. ^ Mickanen, Dylan - Oregon State wins the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time in program history. NBC Sports, March 13, 2021
  4. ^ Dashel, Nick - Oregon State Beavers narrowly beat Colorado to win Pac-12 tournament, earn automatic bid to NCAA Tournament. Portland Oregonian, March 13, 2021
  5. ^ Newman, Josh - The Pac-12 is pushing ahead with its conference basketball tournaments. Is this a good idea?. Salt Lake Tribune. February 8, 2021
  6. ^ Pac-12 update on attendance policy for 2021 Men's & Women's Basketball Tournaments. Pac-12 Conference, February 24, 2021
  7. ^ "Arizona self-imposes one year postseason ban due to NCAA investigation following FBI bribery probe". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Men's Basketball Standings". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Wilner, Jon - NCAA tournament best bets: Pac-12 sends five teams into the Madness. How many survive the first weekend?. San Jose Mercury News, March 18, 2021
  10. ^ Pac-12 Men’s Basketball to send five teams to 2021 NCAA Tournament. Pac-12 Conference Digital Newsroom, March 14, 2021, San Francisco, CA
  11. ^ Mast, Shelby and Scott Gleeson - NCAA Tournament bracketology: Final March Madness projection on Selection Sunday USA Today, March 14, 2021
  12. ^ Kercheval, Ben - NCAA Tournament 2021: Michigan State, UCLA among last four in, Louisville among first four replacement teams - CBS Sports, March 14, 2021
  13. ^ Sweeney, Kevin - Bracket Watch: Time Running Out Heading Into Regular Season's Final Weekend - SI.COM (Sports Illustrated) March 5, 2021
  14. ^ Wilner, Jon - Saturday Night One: Pac-12 unbeaten through first round, in range of record-breaking NCAA cash haul. East Bay Times, March 20, 2021
  15. ^ Forde, pat - The Pac-12's Unexpected Dominance Highlights an Endearingly Weird Men’s Sweet 16. March 23, 2021. Sports Illustrated
  16. ^ Odom, Joel - Pac-12 will have 3 teams among the Elite Eight at the men’s NCAA Tournament. Portland Oregonian, March 28, 2021
  17. ^ UCLA reaches Final Four to continue Pac-12 Men's Basketball's historic 2021 NCAA Tournament run. Pac-12 conference, March 30, 2021
  18. ^ a b Wilner, Jon - The Pac-12’s killer cash haul: UCLA win caps the most lucrative NCAA Tournament in conference history, San Jose Mercury News, March 31, 2021